MR Meets The Club Runner Who Took London Marathon By Storm

Swansea Harrier Josh Griffiths made history by becoming the fastest British finisher at the London Marathon, in a time of 2:14:49

Josh, pictured crossing the line at the Cardiff Half, stunned the elite athletes at yesterday’s London Marathon

You might expect a few things from your first ever marathon: a definite rollercoaster of emotions; a possible encounter with the dreaded ‘wall’; maybe even a chance encounter with a viking.

You’d be forgiven, though, for setting your sights a little lower than aiming to beat every single one of your fellow countrymen… which is exactly what Josh Griffiths, a 23-year-old club runner for Swansea Harriers, did yesterday at the London Marathon.

In his first ever race over 26.2 miles, the Welshman took the marathon world by storm as he out-ran all the British elites to cross the line in 2:14:49 – and qualify for the World Athletics Championships in August.

“I just wanted to run under 2:16, to qualify for the Welsh Commonwealth Games,” Griffiths told MR, “and even that was an ambitious target. So to run 2:14…it’s crazy really.

“Even up till mile 24, all I was thinking of was trying to hit my 2:16 target pace, then when I got into the final mile it started to hit me that I might qualify for the World Champs.”

Griffiths went on to describe the incredible moment he not only caught up with, but began overtaking some of his running heroes:

“I caught up with the main group, then I remember overtaking Scott Overall. It was crazy. I was a bit worried I was just pacing it badly, but I felt good that I decided to keep going.”

And the moment he crossed the line: pure disbelief.

“I couldn’t believe it when I finished and saw my time. I still can’t really.”